West Branch hosting its first show choir competition, 'Saturday Night Jive'

West Branch hosting its first show choir competition, 'Saturday Night Jive'

Jan. 15, 2014

Written by

Aly Brown

Iowa City Press-Citizen

If you go

• What: Saturday Night Jive, West Branch High School’s first hosted show choir competition. • Where: West Branch High School, 900 W. Main St., West Branch. • When: Beginning at 9:30 a.m. Saturday • More information: Call the school at 643-7216.

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The voices of 45 high school students are barely audible at first. The sound crescendos, voices bouncing off the walls of the gym at West Branch High School, the site of Saturday’s regional show choir competition.

“Saturday Night Jive” will be the first time the school will host its own competition, headlined by West Branch’s Christopher Jive and the Uptown 45.

Director Chris Reed started the school’s show choir 14 years ago. At first, the group was composed of 15 kids. Now, it’s grown to 80 members, including replacement singers and the band.

Reed said he is continually struck by how many students stick with the choir through their four years. The group is diverse, including theater kids, and even basketball and football players. The group meets three times a week in a scheduled block class, with workouts and practice on the weekends.

“There is a lot of self-motivation in this group,” Reed said.

Reed said West Branch High School, a Class 2A school, regularly competes against 3 and 4A schools. Two years ago, the choir earned the Grand Champion title at Central Lee High School’s prestigious competition, as well as Best Band and Best Choreography.

Reed said he hopes the competition will give smaller schools with lower budgets a chance to shine.

Fourteen schools from across Iowa, such as West Liberty High School and Des Moines Christian School, and Wisconsin will compete for the best in their class, including accolades for best vocals and showstopper.

Reed said if the turnout is high, he hopes to put West Branch on the map with its own annual regional competition.

“We’re hoping it’s contagious,” he said.

Senior Tyler Haub, 17, is one of the choir’s strongest members, and plans to study theater after graduation. Haub consistently performs at the front of the pack, sings solos and signs through the choir’s ballad.

“I just kind of like the relationships you get with the people who are in it,” Haub said.

Haub said while show choir is “usually seen as a girl thing to do,” many of the show choir members thrive on the competitive element of the show choir world.

“The arts are very competitive,” he said. “This competition is just as important to us as state is to football.”